


Need You Now

by JehBeeEh



Series: Ahead by a Century [13]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Minor Angst, Mostly Fluff, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, sad Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-22 11:43:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21301517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JehBeeEh/pseuds/JehBeeEh
Summary: “Steve, I need you to be real honest with me right now.” Tony’s usually confident and strong voice was small, so small, like that of a child who’d just been scolded. He took a deep breath before he walked forward a little and put the magazine Steve hadn’t noticed he was holding on the counter between them. “Why’d you do it?” he asked, voice barely audible, but dripping with so much pain.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Ahead by a Century [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1514069
Comments: 31
Kudos: 324





	Need You Now

“That’s it, I’m getting you a Stark Phone. This is ridiculous,” Tony sounded serious, unlike the thousands of times before when he’d made the threat, mostly on grounds of how damned old Steve’s phone was (_‘How can I be seen dating someone with such a horrible phone?’ _he’d said on more than one occasion).

“I’m sorry, the battery is acting up, I didn’t mean to hang up on you like that.” Steve apologized. “I don’t need a new phone, just need to keep my charger at my desk, that’s all,”

They had been in the middle of Tony venting at being tired of dealing with some of the ‘boring business side of Stark Industries’ as he put it while Steve was making coffee when the blonde’s phone had just shut off out of the blue. And he wasn’t lying, the battery just decided to drain in no time lately. He thought he’d be ok for a quick call, but apparently the tech had other plans. He’d run back to his desk and grabbed the new mobile work had provided for him, which he only rarely ever used except for work, and called his boyfriend back as quickly as he could, making his way back to the empty staff kitchen.

“Well, I’m still getting you a new phone. Consider it a… I don’t know, birthday? When is your birthday anyways? How hasn’t this come up yet?!”

“Ignore my birthday, please…”

“Fine, find a holiday… Halloween! There, belated Halloween present! That works,” the brunette continued, as Steve could hear him chewing on gummy candies – which he often did when he got overwhelmed at work.

“I’m not getting a Halloween phone, that’s ridiculous. Spending the night with you was more than enough.” Steve poured his cup of coffee and went to the fridge to get his milk container. “Anyways, you were saying the morning has been as bad as yesterday?”

“Yeah, a bunch of meetings with stupid people who just don’t get what I’m trying to do… it’s not their fault, you know? I’m not good at explaining it in a way they’ll understand, so no one can blame them for not buying into it. And the only person that can explain it to them, they don’t take seriously. Pisses me off, ‘s all.”

“For sure, makes sense. Wish there was something I could do to help, babe.” Steve turned and leaned on the counter, not wanting to leave the kitchen. Talking to Tony from his desk always resulted in extra attention and questions from his co-workers. They were all very well meaning, but they also didn’t take well to Steve not sharing details – he was overly cautious of who he spoke to about his boyfriend.

Tony sighed on the other end of the line. “I have been thinking… maybe I’m done with this. I’m just getting way too old for this bullshit, and it’s taking away from what I love to do, you know? The time I am stuck in these meetings when I could be with the R&D team, or in the lab, or at home…”

Steve waited before saying anything, wanting to see if Tony would expand on the idea. It took another moment before the brunette resumed. “I spoke to the lawyers at work already, and I can totally appoint someone as CEO if I want. I’d stay majority share holder, it’s still my company and all that jazz, but someone does all the stuff I hate having to deal with. Just a bit of paperwork, and then I can do what I love.”

“That really does sound like a perfect solution. You’d need to find someone you trust though; that might be the biggest challenge really.” Steve had a feeling that part was already sorted out as well, knowing Tony Stark didn’t think through problems half-way before starting to act on it. Especially not after what he’d gone through in the past with Stane.

“I was thinking… Pepper would be perfect for this. She knows this company better than I do. She is smart; smarter than anyone on the board is. Seriously, she tried to explain the plan I wanted to put in place to that douche Justin this morning, and he flat-out refused to listen to her, but she _got_ it Steve. She knew exactly what I was trying to get at… She gets me. She knows where I want this company to go, what I want to create, and she has the business sense to make it happen. And damn it, the woman has earned it after dealing with me for this long!”

Steve chuckled at that last thought. “I don’t think anyone could argue that point. It sounds like you really want to do this. It really does sound like it would work. And I definitely wouldn’t complain at seeing you a bit more often, and you being less stressed.”

“Worried about my old man heart, are you?” For the first time since they started talking, Steve heard Tony’s usual playful tone come out.

“Someone has to. I want to keep you around long enough to make it into your will after all,” Steve replied jokingly, getting a laugh from the other end of the line.

“I knew it! You’re just after my fortune. You must have been sweating there when I said I was done with all this.”

“Meh, I’ve got options. I’m young and pretty, as you keep reminding me. I can find another sugar daddy, I’m sure.”

“Wow. I thought I knew you, Steven. Good thing I’m not giving it all away then. I’d miss your sexy ass way too much.”

“You’re making me blush at work,” Steve fake whispered into his phone, unable to contain how happy he was in that moment.

“I’m sure Brad in Marketing will appreciate that.”

“For crying out loud, please forget about that. Mistakes were made, bad decisions, yaddi-yadda. Let it go.”

“Sure, Elsa.” Tony laughed. “Thanks for listening to me vent. I know you’re at work and you got better things to do. Just needed to talk to someone.”

“Anytime, you know I don’t mind one bit. It’s actually kinda quiet right now, since they’re getting ready for the next release. Might have heard about the guy on the cover actually. Real up and comer, genius billionaire, sexy as hell.”

“Nope, doesn’t ring a bell. Is he who you’re leaving me for?”

“Guess you’ll have to wait and see when it’s released.”

“I cannot wait to find out. OK, gotta go, Pep just came in, she looks mad at me. Love you. See you tonight?”

“Tell her I say hi, and of course. Text me details, phone is charging, so I shouldn’t have issues replying again.”

“You’ll have a new, fully functioning phone tonight, babe. Already sent the request in. Bye!”

The phone disconnected before Steve could answer. He went back to his desk, and not for the first time in the last five or so months, wondered how this was even his life now.

* * *

Steve was in the kitchen chopping veggies for dinner when he heard the front door. “Babe? You’re here early. Wasn’t expecting you for another hour or so,” he’d called out.

Steve looked up as Tony walked into the kitchen, face completely unreadable, stopping a far distance from the blond. His dark eyes were searching Steve’s face, as if it held some magical answer to what he should say next.

“Tony?” Steve asked cautiously, not entirely sure what to expect. “You’re kinda scaring me, what’s going on?”

Tony just kept looking at him, expression barely changing but Steve thought he looked upset, or even hurt. He kept opening and closing his mouth, as if he wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start. Steve wiped his hands on a nearby towel and made a move to get closer to the brunette but, did Tony just flinch? Steve stopped, concern growing by the second. The tension building between the two men was palpable, and Steve wracked his brain to remember the conversations they’d had that day. They’d joked about the Rangers’ abysmal season start. They’d talked about the Vegas trip him and Bucky were planning. They had a laugh at how, somehow, the picture of Tony taking a selfie was the one that had made it on the cover of his upcoming issue of Wired. Tony mentioned meetings at Stark Industries. They made plans for Tony to come over for dinner. Nothing out of the ordinary popped in Steve’s mind, which made it all the worse. He couldn’t come up with a single reason Tony would look so upset. Unless something happened to Rhodey or Pepper, but then why would he be here, and not with them?

Steve was about to make one more plea for the brunette to give him some indication of what had happened, when Tony made a sound like he was clearing his throat, but mostly sounded like he was trying to make sure his voice wouldn’t betray him when he finally spoke. That’s when Steve noticed the shine that had overtaken the brown eyes he loved so much. Tony blinked a few times, getting rid of the obvious tears that had formed and he cleared his throat again.

“Steve, I need you to be real honest with me right now.” Tony’s usually confident and strong voice was small, so small, like that of a child who’d just been scolded. He took a deep breath before he walked forward a little and put the magazine Steve hadn’t noticed he was holding on the counter between them. “Why’d you do it?” he asked, voice barely audible, but dripping with so much pain.

Steve just stared at him, unsure what the question meant, nor how to answer it. “Um… I have no idea what you’re asking me about. What did I do, exactly?” Steve did his best to keep his voice calm and level, but he had to admit he was getting a bit frustrated at not knowing what was happening.

“Pepper got an advance copy today.” Tony grabbed the magazine and flipped easily to a page he had obviously spent lots of time on. “She was really confused by what she found in there. And the giant bouquet of flowers your editors sent along, congratulating her on her promotion.” Tony pushed the article towards Steve and pointed to a note that was added at the end. Sure enough, it stated that Tony Stark, at the time of the original interview, was still CEO and Chairman of Stark Industries.

Steve just re-read the short passage, now understanding what Tony was referring to, but still just as confused about how it got there. He looked to his boyfriend, who just looked back at him with a blank stare. “Sweetheart… I don’t know how they got the information. It wasn’t me, I’d never do this to you. I’m as stunned about this as you are.”

“See, I really want to believe you right now, Steve. You have no idea how much I want to be wrong about this. But you are the only person I told. No one knew I was thinking of appointing Pepper to that position. The lawyers knew I wanted to do it, but I didn’t go into details about who, I just wanted to know if I could and if there were restrictions. I want to believe you, Steve…” Tears were now rolling freely down Tony’s cheeks, and his voice broke on the last sentence. God did the blond want to just grab him in his arms and hold him tight right now, but he was frozen in place. He tried to recall every conversation he had had since Tony had told him, just over a week ago was it now? Nothing. He was coming up blank. He hadn’t even spoken to Tony about it again.

“I am wracking my brain Tony, I swear, I didn’t tell a soul about this! This is ridiculous, how could anyone find out?” Steve was almost begging Tony to believe him now. “I didn’t tell anyone, I promise you. Please, you have to believe me.”

“I’m trying, I really am, but there is nothing… I have nothing else to go on, right now.” Tony closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “I’ve wanted to believe this would be different, I tried so hard to tell myself that you wouldn’t do this, but damn it, this feels way too familiar, and it’s like… it’s like my brain won’t let me believe that you wouldn’t do this, that this is different. That you’re different. I want to believe it, Steve, but I’ve been burned so many times...”

“You have no idea how much I hate that you feel this way.” Steve was getting progressively angrier and sadder the more he tried to think about how something like this could have happened. Seeing Tony so visibly shaken and upset made Steve want to physically hurt whoever had done this to him, to them. He made a move again towards the brunette, and when the man didn’t try to back away from him, he pulled Tony into his arms and buried his face in the brunette’s hair, promising him over and over again that he would figure out how this happened, he’d make this right. He held him close, not wanting to let go. Worried about what may happen when he did; god that thought was scarier than anything else going through Steve’s mind right now.

“I, um, should get going, Happy’s waiting…” Tony finally said, trying without much real effort to push away from the blond. “I just need to be alone for a bit, figure out… I don’t even know what I’m thinking right now anymore.” He pulled away from Steve, just enough to look him in the eyes. Steve brought their foreheads together, silently praying this was not the last time he got to hold Tony in his arms. He moved his hands up to hold Tony’s head, cradling it gently as he placed a soft kiss to his brow.

“Tony, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my life,” Steve’s voice broke then, tears finally spilling from his eyes. “I promise I will find a way to make this better. I promise.”

Tony looked up and placed his hands over Steve’s and gave a gentle squeeze, sad smile on his lips, fresh tears streaking his cheeks. With a final quick kiss – barely a graze of his lips – in Steve’s palm, he moved their hands down and walked away, leaving Steve standing in the kitchen all alone. When the front door closed behind him, Steve crumbled to the ground, back against the kitchen island, and couldn’t contain any of the emotions he’d tried to hold in before.

* * *

Natasha and Bucky spent the weekend with Steve. They didn’t know exactly what happened, Steve didn’t want to go into details, but they knew enough to know it was bad. Steve had sent them both a quick text after Tony had left and he'd cried himself out – his brain ever so helpfully going through every horrible outcome that could play out, none of them ending well.

_Something happened. Don't want to be alone, please._

Within the hour, Bucky arrived with takeout from their favourite Chinese place, Nat not too far behind with his favourite ice cream. Neither asked questions as Steve just grabbed a plate of food, and sat himself in front of the TV, starting an almost all-night rom-com binge, his friends following suit. Bucky called it a night around midnight, Natasha and Steve starting episodes of Friends instead of another movie. They were finishing the last of their respective quarts of ice cream in silence. After one episode finished, Nat turned towards him.

“You ok?” she asked gently.

Steve cleared his throat. “Not really… I don’t know.” He mumbled, voice still hoarse from the crying earlier and not speaking until then.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not right now. Thanks though.” He turned to her and smiled, mostly out of politeness.

“Come on, let’s go to bed,” she grabbed his hand and tugged, coaxing him to get up.

“I don't want to. I’m ok here,” he tried to escape her grip but couldn't.

“I know, but you need sleep, Steve. Come on, I’ll stay with you, I promise.” She tugged again, this time the blond followed. She pushed him up the stairs, telling him to get ready for bed while she cleaned up the main floor quickly.

Steve walked into his room and didn’t turn the light on, knowing there were a thousand little things that would remind him of Tony. At some point though, he didn’t have a choice but to turn on the ensuite light and he had to fight back tears as he spotted Tony's toothbrush, his hair products, a random tie that had made it’s way in there. He finished up quickly and all but jumped into bed, burying himself under the covers. A few minutes later he felt Nat slip under the covers behind him, a soft arm wrapping around his waist.

“Thanks Nat,” Steve whispered.

“Everything will be ok. Get some sleep.”

And thankfully he did. He woke up with a raging headache – thank you, dehydration – the next morning and realized it was almost noon when he finally got out of bed. He found Bucky alone in the living room, playing some PS4 game he didn’t recognize.

“Morning. Nat had to run out, but she made us breakfast, there is still pancakes left for you. Got some advil on the counter too, and a fresh pot of coffee.”

“Thanks Buck. You don’t have to stay, I’m ok alone…” Steve felt bad for guilt-tripping his friends into coming the night before, a hint of embarrassment also coursing through the sentence.

“Got nowhere else to be for now, I’m staying here. Besides, Tasha said she is making us dinner, I’m not passing that up.” Bucky replied, used to this routine by now.

Steve shuffled to the kitchen and reheated some of the pancakes, finding a note from Nat saying there were berries and whipped cream in the fridge. He smiled, a small but genuine smile, at how amazing his friends were. He took the pills, chugging a massive glass of water, before preparing his coffee. He loaded up his plate, finding his favourite whipped cream and the real maple syrup he kept in the fridge and joined Bucky back in the living room. He ate quietly, watching the game Bucky was playing go by without really paying attention. When he was done, he cocooned himself in a plush blanket and somehow managed to doze off for another hour

When he got up again, he felt jittery. He headed upstairs, got changed into his long sleeve running shirt and shorts, and told Bucky he was heading out for an hour. He mapped out his usual long run, found his playlist and headed out. He focused solely on his pace, trying to push a bit harder than usual without exhausting himself to the point where he'd have to walk home, finding a good interval to work with. The streets weren't too crowded, since the Fall weather had truly set in and people wanted to stay bundled inside, plus the cool air meant it wasn’t quite as difficult to survive his run, unlike the hot and muggy summer air. He focused on his breath, the tempo of his feet, the cues from his interval timer, and the distance tracker he had set. He barely paid attention to the music, having it mostly as background noise at this point. When he made it home again, his run tracker happily announced he'd done the course in his fastest time yet. His heart ached a little when his first thought was to send the stats to Tony, and he wasn't sure that was a good idea. At least he had one small victory that weekend.

The rest of the day continued in much the same way, lots of little things going his way, and he couldn't share them with the person he really wanted to. By the time Sunday evening rolled around, Nat and Bucky had to get back home and Steve found himself alone. He tried to get himself ready for the work week, which only reminded him of everything that had happened. How could he go into work and not ask his management where the information had come from? And how could he trust that this wouldn't happen again? The more he thought about it, the clearer the answer became, and he had a plan for the next day. He emailed a few people involved with the article to set up meetings for the next morning. He set up one more meeting for the afternoon, thankful the person agreed to even see him. Then, he texted Tony. Or attempted to text him. He wrote and erased his message more times than he could count, not knowing what to say. Or what he should say. What he wanted to say involved begging for forgiveness even though he had done nothing wrong. He wanted to tell him over and over just how much he loved him, and couldn't imagine life without him. He wanted to say so much, but for now, he settled for something simple.

_Hi. Thought of you all weekend and couldn’t go to bed without checking in. I love you, Tony. Hope you’re doing ok. XO_

He finished the one thing he needed before his afternoon meeting, ignoring his phone while he worked. Just before he got into bed, he checked his messages and found a reply.

_Hey. Doing ok, I guess? Still processing everything… sorry. I love you too. _

For now, that would do.

* * *

Pepper truly was the only reason he was at the office, and not still in the lab, going on 48 plus hours of awake time. Happy had called her after he had dropped Tony back at the tower on Friday night, unsure what had happened exactly, but knowing the boss was not doing ok. She had let it go, getting JARVIS to send periodic updates to ensure he didn’t pass out in the lab. When she still hadn’t heard from Tony on Sunday, she took it upon herself to show up at the tower with dinner, and make sure he went to bed that night, even if it meant her sleeping in the guest room.

And that is how Tony made it to his office the next day, because he was coerced – his words, not hers – into going in. He had spent most of the morning doing absolutely nothing. He sat in his chair and stared out the window, tried to approve some designs that came in from R&D, sorted through some emails, not really replying to any of them with more than a few words. He had asked that no one be allowed into his office that day, he just couldn’t face dealing with people in person. Or people in general, really. Because the one person he wanted to see, he wasn’t sure about right now.

How did this happen, he kept thinking. How had they gotten there, to a point where Tony actually questioned his trust for Steve. Logically, deep down, he knew this was stupid. He knew Steve would never do this to him, wouldn't use him to look better at work. He knew that. Or he wanted to believe it, was more like it. Cause how well could you know a person after only 6 months? He was madly in love with the beautiful blond that stole his heart during that flight, sure, but was it just that love blinding him to Steve's true intentions? Maybe it was insanely obvious to everyone else that Steve was just using him, but he was blinded by the rose-coloured glasses of love, and he'd missed it. But… it didn't feel like this was the case, not this time. If there was one thing Tony Stark had perfected over the years, it was his bullshit meter, and detecting when he was being played. And absolutely nothing about Steve Rogers ever made him think he was being played.

That conversation played over and over again in his mind, it had since Friday. Along with every beautiful moment of their relationship so far – and gosh were there lots. How had they gotten so lucky that things went so well for so long? Maybe that’s what he had missed, nothing could ever be this perfect, right? He mused this new thought in his mind, going back to staring out of the window, when there was a quiet knock at his office door. He didn’t turn around, deciding if he ignored it, the person would just go away. Then he heard the door unlock and open. Only one person had access to do that.

“Pepper, unless you are here to tell me to go home, I’m just not in the mood,” he called out as he heard the door open. “Actually, screw this, I AM going home, you aren't the boss of me yet…” he stood up and froze when he saw it wasn’t his assistant there, but rather, Steve.

“Hi,” he said, voice barely audible. “I, um… Ms. Potts let me in. Hope it's ok.”

“She wouldn't have let you in without an interrogation if I know her.” Tony smiled at the thought of Pepper sitting Steve down to get a talking to.

“Oh trust me, you’re not wrong there. Can we talk please? It won't take long, I promise.” Tony realized Steve hadn’t even gotten out from behind the door.

“Yeah, of course,” he waved towards the leather couch in the corner of the sprawling office.

They both moved towards the sitting area slowly, averting each other's gazes. They sat in silence for a minute that felt like hours. Tony looked up first, studying Steve, his sweet sweet Steve. He noticed how tired he looked, probably just as badly as he did. His posture was all wrong – not the tall, square shouldered man he was used to, instead he looked like he was trying to shrink on himself, shoulders curved inwards. He was holding an envelope like his life depended on it. He took a deep breath and looked up, noticing brown eyes examining him and gave Tony a small smile, nothing like his usual one, and Tony's heart broke just a little.

“You were not kidding about Pepper being amazing at her job. She is scary as fuck.” Steve finally said, making Tony laugh. “I sent her a message last night asking to meet her today, never expected she would want to see me. I just spent an hour having to explain my intentions to her and being run through a gauntlet of questions that would make the CIA blush. She is really protective of you. I’m happy you have someone like that in your life.”

“She is pretty amazing, yeah. Sorry if she freaked you out.”

“She didn't, don't worry. She had every right to do what she did. I’d be upset too if the roles were reversed.” Steve turned slightly towards Tony, who had turned to face him, one leg on the couch, unable to take his eyes off the blond. “I spent all weekend trying to come up with a reason why you’d think I did this to you. I tried to find a moment where I could have ever made you think I wasn’t trust worthy or… I don’t even know. Last night I realized it wasn’t about me, not really. You and Pepper are absolutely justified in thinking the way you do Tony.

“I tend to forget that I am dating Tony Stark, not just some random guy, and you both have a business to protect in the process, so something like this, it’s not just about me and you, there is way more at play. I’m not mad at you for questioning my trust Tony. I’m pissed off at all the people that came into your life before me that made you feel this way, cause you do not deserve that. You don’t deserve to always have to worry that people are trying to use you.” Steve reached for his hand resting on the back of the couch, and the brunette didn’t move away. He took it and squeezed it gently. Tony closed his eyes, relishing the contact.

“Now,” Steve continued, taking a steadying breath. “I spent the morning talking to people at work, and no one will fess up to where they got the info. They just kept saying they had a source, they stand by it, all that bullshit. My name never came up during their talks, so they had no idea I was involved. They mentioned your legal department was already on their asses that morning. They felt bad I think. Regardless, and you don't have to believe me, it seems someone has the office bugged or something. And, even after I explained the situation, no one would budge and it really pissed me off that they just didn’t care about my privacy in this. Anyways, I told Pepper all this already. And I showed her this…” he gave Tony the envelope he’d been holding on to. “You can read it. And know that regardless of what happens with us, I plan on handing that in tomorrow.”

Tony looked puzzled as he opened the piece of paper, and skimmed through the letter. He looked up again, shocked. “Steve… you don't have to resign your job just because of me. This is crazy!”

“Like I told Pepper, this isn’t about you – not completely anyways. I mean it, even if you choose to never see me again, this is about my employer not giving a shit that my privacy and personal life. At least, they haven’t showed me that they care. That's what this is about for me right now. I hate that it hurt you, and us, in the process, but me resigning is about me.”

“That's why Pepper let you in… she believed you didn’t do it, and that this isn't some ploy.”

“Pretty much, yeah. I mean it sweetheart, I won't blame you if you never believe me or forgive me, and I don't think I will ever fully get over you. How I was ever lucky enough to have dated Tony Stark…” Steve was interrupted by a ringing phone. He quickly checked the caller ID and mouthed an apology at Tony as he answered. “Hi Julie…”

Tony closed his eyes, not sure where to go from there. How had they gone from being so happy just 3 days before to Steve resigning his job and being convinced he had to refer to their relationship in the past tense. The blond had hung up and went to start talking again, but Tony beat him to it.

“My turn to talk for a bit,” he smiled and shuffled closer to Steve. “I am so sorry this happened Steve. All of it. You are right, I’ve had more relationships end badly than I care to admit, and it was all due to trust issues. And it sounds like we spent our weekends thinking of the same thing, and coming to the same conclusion: you have never once made me think I couldn’t trust you. I think I knew that deep down even last week. It was just too hard to believe, you know? And that is on me, not you, and I am more sorry than you can imagine that I tried so hard to find the part of you that was trying to play me. I feel like such an ass… I really hope someday I’ll be able to get over that automatic defense mechanism I seem to have built, but I don’t know if I can. I do know, if you’re willing to give me a chance to work on that… I don't want you to leave. I need you, so much. I was miserable all weekend without you. You are the best part of my life, Steve, and I can't imagine not having you in it.”

Tony looked at Steve, and beamed when he saw that genuine, perfectly Steve smile grace the blonde's lips and reach his eyes, making them sparkle. He took a chance and leaned in to Steve's space, the blonde not hesitating for a second and closing the distance. Their lips meet, passionate and hungry for each other's touch, almost desperate for it as if they both truly thought this would never happen again. Tony's hands run through Steve's soft blond hair, grabbing handfuls of it when he can to keep him there, to remind himself he isn't going anywhere. He feels Steve's strong hands pull him in by the waist with the same intensity, and lift him onto his lap so the brunette is straddling him. When they finally part for air, Tony buries his face in his boyfriend's neck, breathing in deeply the scent that is oh so familiar now and completely Steve. The blond holds onto him tightly, hands rubbing up and down his back as he whispers I love yous and apologies and promises that he will never let him go, and Tony melts into him more and more with every word. They stay there for a little while, enjoying being in each other's arms.

“How did I ever get lucky enough to find you, Steve Rogers?” Tony asks softly, head still buried in his neck.

“I wonder the same thing everyday, sweetheart.” Steve answers, brushing his lips against the brunette's temple, Tony noticing first the first time the stubble gracing the man's face.

“How did you manage to grow a beard in two days?” Tony asked after sitting upright and running his hands over the usually soft cheeks.

“I need to shave everyday or it sprouts like a chia pet. It’s my super power. It'll be gone tomorrow, promise.” Steve wrinkled his nose as Tony kept petting his face, the short but thick stubble feeling oddly nice under the brunette's hands.

“Oh, I am not complaining one bit. Looks real good on you actually.” He leaned down to kiss him again, sweet and quick. “By the way, your phone…”

“Don’t worry, still have the one you gave me, it is intact.” Steve replied quickly, one hand brushing strands of loose curls from Tony's forehead. “That is my work phone. Julie got it for me when I told her mine was acting up.”

“You refused my offer for how long, but you took a brand new work phone with no hesitation?”

“I only ever use it for work purposes though, not the same. I didn’t want you to think I was using you for your fun toys and money, and up until that one time my phone died when we were talking, I legit never used that one for anything other than work…” Steve’s voice got slower and quieter as he spoke, realization dawning on him. “They used the phone!”

Tony quickly caught on to what the blond meant. He stood up, and pulled Steve along with him and out of his office. They headed towards the private elevator that lead to the penthouse and Tony's private lab. The brunette could feel Steve tensing up, anger boiling in him. He tried to soothe him once they were alone in the elevator, but by that point, Steve was furious.

“How could I have been so stupid? I should have known, or at least realized that's how they got the info. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

“This is not your fault. You shouldn't have to worry about shit like this. Let's make sure that’s what it is before we jump to conclusions, ok?”

They reached the workshop and Tony asked for the phone, setting it on an empty table.

“JARVIS? Help me out with a scan of this device, please?” Tony called out.

“_Absolutely, sir._” The AI replied, and a second later a blue hologram of the phone appeared in the empty space in front of them.

Tony motioned to Steve to sit down on a stool nearby as he started playing around with the hologram, flipping it and expanding it to see every component.

“J, can you pull up the specs for this model on my tablet please?”

“_Already done, sir. It seems certain components have been upgraded on the model you had me scan_.”

“Highlight them for me?”

Parts of the hologram flashed red, and once Tony saw the pieces highlighted, he spotted the culprit right away.

“Whoever did this, knew what they were doing. And if I’m right, there is an app on your phone, probably buried somewhere, that is transmitting all your phone conversations to another device.”

Tony watched as the blond sighed and closed his eyes. He walked towards him, placing his hands on Steve's knees. “Babe, this is not your fault.” The blond sunk forward, forehead resting on Tony's chest.

“I should have thought of this last week. I should have known.”

“Don't you dare start that.” Tony buried a kiss in the mop of blond hair before resting his head on top of it. “I never thought of it either, and I’m the genius here.” He wrapped his arms around Steve, rubbing small circles on his back. “At least now we know. And I am going to sue the crap out of whoever is responsible for this. No one hurts my boyfriend like that and gets away with it.”

“You don’t have to do that, I’ll be fine.”

“Like you said, it’s the principal of it all. I am not letting this go.” He placed another kiss on the blonde's head and pulled away, dragging him along with him. “Come on, let’s go see Pepper and figure out how to fix this.”

* * *

Walking into the office felt weird, there was no denying it. He spent the past 10 years working here, and regardless of how it was ending, Steve would miss it. He didn’t stop at his desk, just went straight to the back of their floor, where his boss' office was. He knocked on the open door, grabbing her attention.

“Hey Jules, got a minute?”

She waved him in, and he shut the door before taking a seat.

“Steve, I just wanted to say again, I am so sorry about this. I had no idea until I got called in to answer questions… this is being taken seriously, I promise.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. Um, there’s no easy way to say this, and I can't even fully explain it, but I’m resigning Julie. This is not on you, I made the decision Sunday actually. Tony and I figured out how the info got leaked last night. His lawyers are here right now talking to the executives. I won't even pretend to understand the legalese they threw at me, but regardless, I was going to resign either way. I can't stay here knowing I’ll always be looking behind my back to see if someone is trying to get info out of me. I know it isn't your fault, or anyone on the team. I’m really going to miss you guys.”

They chatted for a while longer, Julie trying to convince him to stay every chance she got. Steve got a text from Tony with lunch date plans, which meant the lawyers had gotten back to him with a resolution already.

“Is that the new Stark phone?” Julie asked amused.

Steve smirked. “Yeah, they’re coming out next year, but I have connections apparently. I gotta go, but I’ll be back tomorrow to pick up my things and bring back my laptop. I didn’t go home last night so couldn’t bring it today.”

“Don't sweat it. Let me know before you come over, and don’t worry, I’ll keep this quiet with the team for now.”

Steve stood and Julie made her way around her desk to hug the blond. “Thanks Julie. I’m really gonna miss you.”

He left her office, and headed straight for the elevator. He replied quickly to Tony when he was alone in the elevator that he would meet him there, the brunette letting him know Happy was already waiting for him outside. Steve rolled his eyes, as he spotted the town car waiting for him just outside the building. He got in, greeting the driver, who headed towards Stark Tower silently. The past three and a half days had taken their toll on Steve, who was exhausted physically and emotionally. Regardless, of what happened, he was just thankful he still had Tony after all was said and done. The thought pulled a smile from him, as he rested his head and closed his eyes. He didn’t realize he actually dozed off a little until he heard the car door close behind Tony.

“Did I wake you?” the brunette leaned over to kiss him before taking his seat.

“I guess so. Didn’t realize I fell asleep. How was your morning?”

“Was good. Just left a meeting with Pepper. She is officially Chairman and CEO of the company. And the lawyers came back with some decent news. Looks like your big bosses got really freaked out about what we found in your phone. They are trying to figure out who it was, and they are having every single phone issued checked to make sure this didn’t happen to anyone else. I think they are worried for themselves there, truthfully. They are giving you a nice severance package as a settlement. I don’t have all the details but we should have all the paperwork by the end of the week. Pepper is dealing with the Stark Industries part of it all, but it sounds like they genuinely had no idea any of this happened and it was one or two individuals that are at fault. They sound really sad to see you go.”

“Julie tried so hard to make me change my mind. Thanks for doing all of this, Tony. You really didn’t have to.”

“Meh, it was nothing. What’s the point of dating me if you don't have access to my arsenal of lawyers?” Tony winked at him.

“Sorry you’re stuck dating a jobless bum now,” Steve smirked at him. They'd arrived at the café where they were having lunch. They both got out of the car, Steve reaching for Tony's hand as soon as they were both on the sidewalk. They walked in and got a table quickly. When they were seated and had ordered, Tony interlaced their fingers again on the table.

“Have you thought about what you want to do now?” Tony asked.

“Not really. I was just concentrating on getting through each step, not really thinking much further ahead.” Steve replied, brow furrowed.

“You, without a plan? I’ll be damned!” Tony laughed. “Seriously though, take your time. Whatever you need, I’ve got you, okay?”

“Thanks babe. I was probably going to wait until after the holidays to start searching for a new job. Take some time to just decide what I want to do. The world is my oyster, right?” Steve shrugged.

“I have no doubt, you’ll find the perfect spot to land in. And if you just want to stay home, that’s ok too. I’ll have more spare time myself. Who knows, maybe I can retire and we can travel the world!” Tony exclaimed, Steve unsure if he was joking or not. “Whatever happens, we'll figure it out.”

Steve lifted their joined hands, kissing Tony's knuckles. “Together.”

**Author's Note:**

> The closest we will ever get to 'angst' from me. And it took me a whole week to write it! The idea has been there since I wrote the second or third part of this AU though, just wasn't sure when to add it in. Anywho, hope you enjoyed, and hope you survived the time-change. :)


End file.
